Office of Intercultural Education – News

From Iraq to �ֲ��ý: ‘Sometimes, it’s the detours that lead us to our true destinies’

�ֲ��ý News — Fri, 31 May 2024 17:00:00 +0000

Mohammed Shwani’s parents grew up in Iraq under the regime of Saddam Hussein. As ethnic Kurds, they were persecuted, forced to live amid war and the threat of chemical attacks, with no hope for their own schooling.

Mahdi and Hozan Shwani wanted more for their son. A week ago they were on campus for the realization of one of their dreams for him: the completion of a college degree.

Believed to be the first �ֲ��ý graduate from Iraq, Mohammed Shwani earned his politics degree summa cum laude with the Class of 2024 on May 26. He called his graduation “a celebration of resilience, family, and dreams realized against all odds.”

Mohammed Shwani ’24 of Kirkuk, a city in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, gets help with his graduation cap from his father, Mahdi Shwani, on May 24 before the Commencement Reception and Dinner sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Education, where Mohammed gave the dinner speech. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

“Our journey has been one of resilience and survival,” Mahdi and Hozan Shwani said. “Living within the confines of a war, we couldn’t dream of a world beyond our immediate struggles. Witnessing our child’s graduation from �ֲ��ý College fills us with indescribable pride and a touch of awe.”

Mohammed Shawani had a chance to show his abundant gratitude to his parents, and to �ֲ��ý, in a public way, as the featured speaker at the reception and dinner hosted by the Office of Intercultural Education Commencement two days before Commencement.

Here are his remarks:

It’s a surprise, honestly, that �ֲ��ý saw fit to have me stand before you today, given that my English journey kicked off at 14 years old with nothing but an old Oxford dictionary and lengthy chats with my reflection in the mirror. Somehow, I managed to persuade �ֲ��ý to allow me to bring that very dictionary to the podium. So, if you catch me glancing down today, you’ll know I’m just visiting an old friend for a bit of inspiration.

Mohammed Shwani ’24 of Kirkuk, Iraq, is embraced by his father Mahdi Shwani (left) and his mother Hozan Shwani (right), also of Kirkuk, Iraq, in front of Hathorn Hall on the Friday evening before Commencement. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

As an aspiring lawyer, my mission today is to convince you to boldly go where not everyone goes— away from the mainstream. By the time I conclude my argument, if I’ve swayed you, then it’s clear I’m lawyer material. However, if I fail, then it’s likely Professor [Stephen] Engel made a grave mistake passing me in constitutional law, and I probably have no business graduating this weekend. Let’s hope for my sake, I make a compelling case!

Here are the facts: You are born into a world torn apart by war. You are learning in schools that seem to be falling apart just as fast as Iraqi cities around you. School turns into just memorizing facts among the ruins. But everyone tells you it’s your only hope for a better tomorrow. So faced with that reality, what would you do?

I did something not many people would — I left school.

If you are a parent, your heart probably just skipped a beat. That’s exactly how my parents felt when I went from a straight-A student to barely passing classes and not going to school all together. And I don’t blame them.

You see, my parents were born poor and had endured the Saddam Hussein regime. At 9, my dad was stashed into a bus’s engine as they were fleeing Saddam Hussein’s chemical attacks and persecution of the Kurds. My grandfather many years before had escaped getting hanged at least a few times. My parents’ brushes with conflict had left them fearful, never having finished school, and clinging to the belief that traditional education and good grades were the surest way to secure my future.

Hozan Shwani of Kiruk, Iraq, congratulates her son Mohammed Shwani on his impending graduation from �ֲ��ý as she celebrates her own recent graduation from college, a goal Hozan Shwani had to set aside during the Iraq war. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

But a part of me — call it naiveté or intuition — could not accept this mindset. For much of my life, my mom would construct scenarios of my death she imagined whenever I left the house. I often ignored her warnings. But when ISIS bombed my school, her stories neared reality. My mother’s words consumed me as I carried the bodies of the injured.

These adversities made me doubt the safety of following the crowd. I understood that to make it through, I needed to carve out my own journey, to seek personal growth on my terms. Like obsessing over this dictionary instead of going to school. Without it, I wouldn’t be here. Frankly, I don’t even know if I would be alive.

“Every person has faced their own battles. Some of us have faced wars in our countries, others have fought personal battles that no one else can see. The message I want to impart is not about the adversities themselves, but about how we respond to them.”
Mohammed Shwani

Look, you don’t need to have experienced war to take away the essence of what I’m sharing with you today. Every person in this room, every student, faculty member, and guest, has faced their own battles. Some of us have faced wars in our countries, others have fought personal battles that no one else can see. The message I want to impart is not about the adversities themselves, but about how we respond to them.

You don’t need to have survived a war to understand that life’s true education often happens outside the traditional classroom. It happens when we’re pushed to our limits, when we’re forced to reconsider what we thought was the only path forward. My journey taught me that the mainstream path isn’t the only one to success. In fact, sometimes, it’s the detours, the roads less traveled, that lead us to our true destinies.

But ironically, somehow, I forgot about all this when I came to �ֲ��ý. It was here that I found safety. For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to ask what do I want to do? instead of just surviving. �ֲ��ý gave me the answer.

Coming from a place where the norm was chaos and lawlessness, I found myself here at �ֲ��ý, drawn to the law, believing it was my calling. �ֲ��ý opened my eyes to the power of law, to the beauty of arguing a case, to the thrill of engaging with complex issues. But somewhere down the line, I got a bit lost. I started chasing grades, eyeing that prestigious law firm job, thinking, “This is it. This is success. Safety. This will finally prove that I am…smart, worthy, enough.”

Shwani laughs with Associate Dean for International Student Programs James Reece as at the annual Baccalaureate Service on May 25. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

But you know what? It felt a bit off. Like wearing a shirt that’s too tight — looks good, but man, does it feel constraining. I realized I was marching down a path that was more about ticking boxes than truly living. �ֲ��ý taught me to think, to argue, to write — some say even better than ChatGPT. But it also taught me something more crucial through the close relationship I enjoyed with you all, professors, staff, and friends: to stay true to myself.

Where else do you get this opportunity?

There I was, thinking I had to follow this straight path to be successful, to make my mark. But the real lesson professors kept reminding me of? It’s not just about law, or any one path. It’s about finding what makes you leap out of bed in the morning. For me, it started with ditching school for a dictionary and ended up here, at �ֲ��ý, where I could debate Supreme Court cases, hike Katahdin with the outing club, and discover a love for running I never knew I had.

To the parents out there, I get it. I know how terrifying it must be to watch your kid choose a path you wouldn’t have chosen for them. But here’s the thing—�ֲ��ý reminded me that sometimes, that’s exactly where you need to go. It’s not just about safety or risk; it’s about finding your own rhythm, your own path to happiness and fulfillment.

“I remember begging my dad at 14 to take me to the U.S. Embassy to ask about getting a visa to study in the U.S. He dismissed it as a daydream, saying, ‘People like us will never be able to get a visa, let alone to the U.S.’ But here I am, having turned that so-called fantasy into my reality.”
Mohammed Shwani ’24

To the students, I say: Don’t be afraid to follow your intuition, even when it leads you away from the conventional path. I ask you not just to consider the path less traveled but to embrace it with open arms. Whether it’s through pursuing unconventional careers, seeking education beyond the walls of institutions, or simply living in a way that feels true to you. Don’t worry if your journey doesn’t look like everyone else’s.

Shwani accepts his �ֲ��ý diploma and a handshake from President Garry W. Jenkins on May 26. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Let’s take that leap, not into the unknown, but into what we truly love. Let’s make our mark, not by following the path laid out for us, but by blazing our own, fueled by the passions �ֲ��ý helped us discover and the resilience we’ve built along the way. And if my words today have inspired you to even consider that there might be more out there for you, then I believe I’ve made my case.

As I stand here, I remember begging my dad at 14 to take me to the U.S. Embassy to ask about getting a visa to study in the U.S. He dismissed it as a daydream, saying, “People like us will never be able to get a visa, let alone to the U.S.”

But here I am, having turned that so-called fantasy into my reality. And beyond just making it here myself, the fact that we’ve managed to bring my parents over for graduation feels nothing short of miraculous. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the friends and the support from �ֲ��ý that made this seemingly impossible feat possible.

Welcome to �ֲ��ý, Mom and Dad. Dreams do come true you know. But my new dream is not just about becoming a lawyer, it is to discover, accept and connect with my true authentic self. Whatever path that might be.

I rest my case.

�ֲ��ý names Noelle Chaddock as vice president for equity and inclusion

�ֲ��ý News — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 16:00:38 +0000

�ֲ��ý College President Clayton Spencer announced today that Noelle Chaddock, associate provost and deputy Title IX coordinator at Rhodes College, will become vice president for equity and inclusion at �ֲ��ý effective June 1, 2019.

“I am so pleased to welcome Noelle Chaddock to the �ֲ��ý community at a moment of such promise for our work in equity and inclusion,” said Spencer. “Noelle brings a wealth of experience to this role, a clear and compelling vision of why the work is important, and a record of exceptional diligence and effectiveness in carrying it out. Noelle will be an inspiring leader, partner, and colleague as we continue to challenge ourselves to better realize the founding promise of this college.”

Noelle Chaddock, associate provost and deputy Title IX coordinator at Rhodes College, will become vice president for equity and inclusion at �ֲ��ý effective June 1, 2019. (Photograph courtesy of Rhodes College)

“I am terribly excited to continue the work of equity, inclusion, access, and social justice at �ֲ��ý College and in the Lewiston-Auburn community,” said Chaddock. “In visiting �ֲ��ý, it was clear that there is a deep investment in this work across the institution. This matters greatly to me. The opportunity to work with my new colleagues, our stakeholders, and the brilliant students at �ֲ��ý in a position shaped and based on best practices is extremely compelling.”

A member of Spencer’s senior leadership team, Chaddock arrives as �ֲ��ý has redoubled efforts to achieve greater institution-wide equity and inclusion, including significant initiatives throughout the academic program supported by major gifts through the �ֲ��ý Campaign and comprehensive grants funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

In strategically advancing the college’s commitment to equity and inclusion, Chaddock will collaborate with colleagues across campus, and provide vision and support for both structural and programmatic initiatives, including the work of the Office of Intercultural Education, the college’s major student-facing organization for equity and inclusion, which is directed by Julisa De Los Santos.

“The �ֲ��ý community seems to have a strong sense of what it takes to move through examinations of power and privilege while also stewarding the college’s most important values.”

The new vice president will work with �ֲ��ý faculty across all disciplines, with a focus on fostering curricular transformation, improved pedagogies, and recruitment and retention of new faculty, with particular attention to those traditionally underrepresented in the academy. Supporting the Office of Human Resources, Chaddock will collaborate on staff hiring and employment practices.

“The �ֲ��ý community seems to have a strong sense of what it takes to move through examinations of power and privilege while also stewarding the college’s most important values,” Chaddock said. “I think we will do some amazing and impactful work over the coming years.”

Chaddock has served as associate provost at Rhodes College since 2018, overseeing faculty recruiting, retention, and development within the Office of Academic Affairs while working with academic departments on classroom climate and other issues around diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and social justice. Joining Rhodes in 2016, they were the college’s first associate dean of academic affairs for diversity and inclusivity.

Among other accomplishments, Chaddock helped increase racial diversity among Rhodes’ new-faculty cohorts from 13 percent to 46 percent in two years. Other significant work at Rhodes included collaborative leadership of Academic Affairs’ effort to prioritize the institutional assessment of inclusion, equity, and campus climate.

“The desire for human equity” in American society “still cannot be put down.”

A frequent speaker and presenter on issues related to equity and inclusion, Chaddock offered remarks at a 2018 Rhodes event marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., telling the audience of first-year students that “the desire for human equity” in American society “still cannot be put down.” Achieving equity “is our work” and must be done in community because “no individual — no group, no identity — stands alone. Our humanity is intertwined, and our histories have traveled together. It is not possible, no matter how we perform our realities, to pull them apart.”

In 2017 and 2018, Chaddock served as a faculty member for the Rhodes Institute of Regional Studies, a distinctive, multidisciplinary, and experiential program that gathers faculty in history, urban studies, music, Africana studies, psychology, religious studies, education, and geography.

At the State University of New York at Cortland from 2008 to 2016, Chaddock rose from director of multicultural life and diversity to become the university’s inaugural chief diversity officer, while also serving as an adjunct professor in philosophy and Africana studies. They chaired the SUNY System’s University Faculty Senate’s Committee on Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity. Chaddock frequently provides equity training to community partners, including the Binghamton Police Department and the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis.

A scholar whose research and teaching include critical race theory, reframing white feminism, examining mixed race identity, Africana theater, making of race in the Americas, and philosophies of hip hop, Chaddock is a co-editor of the forthcoming book Antagonizing White Feminism: Women’s Studies, Feminism, Gender Identity, and the Academy (Lexington Books, 2019).

Chaddock earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the State University of New York at Binghamton, including a doctorate in philosophy, interpretation, and culture. Their dissertation explored “Mixed Race Identity in the Millennial United States: The Power of Naming Our Intimate Realities.”

A committee chaired by Professor of Politics Stephen Engel oversaw the national search to fill the �ֲ��ý position. “The search committee was deeply impressed by Noelle’s collegiality, passion, and demonstrated effectiveness as a leader,” said Engel.

He added, “Noelle has what �ֲ��ý needs in this position: the ability to bring groups and individuals to common ground across lines of difference, a deep commitment to engaging collaboratively with all campus constituencies, and the skill to effectively address their needs and concerns.”

Comprising �ֲ��ý faculty, staff, and students, the 12-member search committee was supported by the national executive search firm Isaacson, Miller.

Bobcat First! helps first-gen students find success that lasts

Doug Hubley — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 17:18:01 +0000

Breaking the ice with a group of first-year students, Darby Ray says, “Tell me, in one word, how you’re feeling.”

It’s a morning in late August and the group fills a lounge in �ֲ��ý’ Harward Center for Community Partnerships. Ray, the Harward Center’s director, goes on to label her own mood: curious.

The students chime in. One, like Ray, is curious. Another is surprised, a third anxious. Nervous, observant, happy — all perfectly credible feelings for students new to college.

But these young adults are “new to college” in a way that’s uncommon in the Class of 2021 and at �ֲ��ý generally: They are among the 66 members of the incoming class, or about 13 percent, who represent the first generation of their families to go on to higher education.

Members of the Class of 2020 get acquainted during an academic-planning session in August 2016 as part of the Bobcat First! program. The college’s record of supporting student success garnered an invitation to the American Talent Initiative, an effort to expand college access for low-to-moderate-income students. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

This first-generation leap forward comes with some distinctive experiences. Equipping first-gen students to encounter those experiences is the �ֲ��ý initiative Bobcat First!, now in its third year. The program builds community and a sense of belonging for first-gens, and enriches their understanding of the (often unspoken) rules for navigating college.

“There’s no one in our families to talk with us about their college experiences.”

Bobcat First! provides practical know-how, networking support, and, crucially, a certain sense of identity and self-confidence — all designed to promote participants’ success at �ֲ��ý and beyond. Nationally, degree attainment for first-gen students tends to lag behind continuing-generation students. (Over a six-year average, 4 percent fewer first-gens in the cohorts starting at �ֲ��ý from 2007 to 2010 attained a degree than continuing-generation students.)

“First-generation students don’t have the same resources as students whose parents have college degrees,” says Nina Flores ’20 of Floresville, Texas. One of 30 B1st participants in 2016, Flores is now a peer mentor in the program.

“There’s no one in our families to talk with us about their college experiences,” she explains. That means, among other things, that academic customs, procedures, and jargon can come as a complete surprise to the first-gen student.

“And often we come from school systems that leave us less prepared for college courses,” Flores continues. “It’s a lot of pressure to keep yourself motivated, especially if there’s no one at home who can relate to the difficulties and guide us through them.”

Bobcat First! family members talk with co-director Julisa De Los Santos (left) during a reception at the Office of Intercultural Education during Back to �ֲ��ý Weekend attended by President Clayton Spencer and other college leaders. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

A yearlong program for each cohort of first-year, first-generation students, B1st consists of an immersive week on campus just prior to regular first-year orientation, followed up throughout the academic year with monthly group lunches and other gatherings, both social and informational. The program is opt-in: Roughly half of eligible students chose to take part both this year and last.

During that initial August week, participants “live together and participate in programs designed to help them transition and feel at home here,” explains Jessica Perez, assistant dean of students for student transition and support. She co-directs the program with Julisa De Los Santos, interim director of the Office of Intercultural Education. “So by the time regular Orientation starts, they are feeling pretty good about being here.”

During the 2017 pre-orientation week, participants resided in Small and Cheney houses, wood-frame houses a few doors apart on College Street.

“By the time regular orientation starts, they are feeling pretty good about being here.”

Faculty and staff led workshops on such practical topics as time management, student employment, and academic planning. There were visits to campus departments and resources, such as the session that introduced the group to the Harward Center.

First-gens, says Perez, may “walk into a college not knowing what ‘office hours’ are. When a professor says, ‘Sign up for office hours,’ you’ve never heard that phrase before. It’s helpful for someone to actually define that.”

“Talking to professors was a lot easier” after the pre-orientation week, says Ryan Lizanecz ’20 of Portland, Maine. Like Flores, he was in B1st in 2016, the inaugural year for the current programming, and is now a B1st peer mentor. “Talking to, really, any staff or faculty, being comfortable on campus — just everything was so much easier.”

A Bobcat First! participant last year and a peer mentor this year, Ryan Lizanecz ’20 of Portland, Maine, poses on Alumni Walk. For him, the program for first-gen students made “everything so much easier.” (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Also during the first week, a campus scavenger hunt powered by the GooseChase app helped the newbies learn �ֲ��ý landmarks. (Overheard during the hunt: “The lake is over there.” “You mean the Puddle?”) But the hunt was also intended to help the students learn about each other.

“I couldn’t imagine living the first year at �ֲ��ý without knowing the group first,” says participant Jinzhi Wei ’20 of Liuzhou, China. “I was lucky to find people that can empathize and resonate with me.”

“I found the closest group of �ֲ��ý friends that I have” through the program, Lizanecz says. “We all stay in touch. We can always talk to each other.”

Jessica Perez, Bobcat First! co-director and assistant dean of students for student transition and support, works with first-generation students in August 2016. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

In short, making connections both within the B1st cohort and beyond it is key to the program. And it’s connection-building on a broad scale.

During Back to �ֲ��ý Weekend, in September, the Office of Intercultural Education hosted a reception for B1st students and their families. It was a warm and festive event attended by President Spencer and members of the college’s senior staff.

Parents “want to connect with someone,” says De Los Santos. “They are really thoughtful and want to be a part of the process. We tell parents that this is also for them, this is their process — ‘This is a celebration not just of your student, but of yourselves. This is a family accomplishment.’”

It’s an impromptu meeting of Bobcats First! members from the Class of 2021 and program mentors on Campus Avenue on Aug. 24. From left: Kyle Larry ’21, Samantha Alexander ’20, Doris Etienne ’20, Anais Gonzalez ’20, Lebanos Mengistu ’21, and Samatar Iman ’21. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

B1st students also meet alumni who were themselves first-gen students at �ֲ��ý. As De Los Santos says, the �ֲ��ý education is “not just about their experience here but beyond.” And first-gens also often lack the career-enhancing social connections that accompany a family history of higher education.

“It’s great to hear from alumni who are first-gen,” De Los Santos says. “They talk about their first jobs, and how you negotiate a salary. Or, if you have multiple, intersectional identities, how does that play out in a position?”

“Your first-gen identity, you essentially carry it for the rest of your life.”

Herself a first-gen student, De Los Santos adds, “Sometimes first-gens and their parents have a very linear way of thinking of careers. In my family it was a lot about, doctor, lawyer — careers that we were familiar with. And alumni allow students to think creatively about using what you have learned here and about your purpose in life.” (A theme echoed in �ֲ��ý’ Purposeful Work programming.)

Lizanecz agrees. “I discovered through alumni that not all their paths were so clear-cut,” he says. “Maybe you don’t have to do everything perfectly to get where you want to be. That was really important, and for me it was an eye-opening experience.”

By example as much as anything, Bobcat First! also imparts signature �ֲ��ý values — community and diversity. “I’ve seen that through this program very easily,” as Lizanecz says. And in keeping with the fundamental �ֲ��ý notion of the transformational power of differences, the program encourages its participants to embrace their first-gen identity, rather than feeling like it’s something they have to compensate for.

“Your first-gen identity, you essentially carry it for the rest of your life,” De Los Santos says. “You can name it and let them know, ‘A lot of other folks are feeling how you’re feeling, and struggling the same ways that you’re struggling, and this is why.’” (A total of 235 �ֲ��ý students are first-generation.)

“It’s really rewarding to see them get invested in the �ֲ��ý community,” says Perez, “and find ways to become leaders here, and do things that they might not have thought that they would do otherwise.

“They bring a lot of strength and grit with them,” she says. “These students are often very proud and excited that they can be here. And they should be.”

A Maine landmark is reflected in sunglasses worn by Perla Figuereo ’21 of the Bronx, N.Y., during a visit to Portland Head Light, in Cape Elizabeth. Members of �ֲ��ý’ Bobcat First! program took part in a Greater Portland day trip during the program’s August 2017 pre-orientation week. (Theophil Syslo/�ֲ��ý College)

Slideshow: Click the kaleidoscope and see the Class of 2021 everywhere

�ֲ��ý News — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 15:32:06 +0000

Carrie Murphey ’06, assistant dean of students for first-year programs, likens the experience of Orientation to a kaleidoscope.

“If one thing isn’t fitting quite right, or they’re feeling like, ‘Hmmm, not quite sure how this feels,’ they have lots of opportunities and lots of clicks of the kaleidoscope to see themselves in other parts of �ֲ��ý,” she says.

Photographers Phyllis Graber Jensen and Theophil Syslo followed members of the Class of 2021 for much of Orientation, as they walked Lewiston, learned about the importance of reasoned inquiry, and spent their days and nights in the woods, on a farm, or at sports practice.

The clicks of the kaleidoscope started Tuesday, Aug. 29, as the new students met advisers in various First-Year Seminars, continued with off-campus AESOP trips and on-campus varsity sports practices late in the week, then returned to campus for Tuesday’s Convocation and the start of classes on Wednesday.

Jaelene Perez '20 of the Bronx, Precious Johnson '20 of Chicago, and Jesus Carrera '20 of Waco, Texas, pose for student photographer Alexandria Onuoha '20 of Malden, Mass., during the OIE reception. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Wednesday, Sept. 6: Catching up at the OIE's reception, from left, are John Collantes '18 of Park Ridge, Ill., Sally Ceesay '18 of the Bronx, Jeanne Hua '18 of Honolulu, and Frederick Cheng '18 of San Leandro, Calif. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Wednesday, Sept. 6: Brooke Drabkin '18 of Roslyn Heights, N.Y., (facing camera) hugs Cash Huynh '18 of New Orleans during an Office of Intercultural Education reception held to welcome the Class of 2021 and give returning faculty, staff, and students a chance to connect and reconnect. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Wednesday, Sept. 6: Students listen to a discussion about the "Odyssey" during the first lesson of Lisa Maurizio’s First-Year Seminar, “Classical Myths and Contemporary Art.” Students in the course “explore the ways in which myths give members of a society, whether ancient or modern, meaningful tools to describe and explore issues, values, and conflicts.” (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Tuesday, Sept. 5: After Convocation, Marshall Vale pours a cup of water from Lake Andrews on the soil around a red oak sapling near the Class of 1929 Gate. Each year, a memorial tree is planted to honor members of the �ֲ��ý community who have died in the past year. Marshall Vale’s wife Katie Vale, college librarian and vice president for information and library services, died in December. (Theophil Syslo/�ֲ��ý College)

Crystal Williams appointed associate provost for diversity and inclusion at Boston University

�ֲ��ý News — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 12:19:44 +0000

Crystal A. Williams, associate vice president for strategic initiatives and professor of English at �ֲ��ý since 2013, has been appointed associate provost for diversity and inclusion at Boston University, effective October 2017. Serving as �ֲ��ý’ chief diversity officer, Williams has led the strategic expansion of programs to support institution-wide diversity and inclusion efforts for students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and has overseen the Office of Equity and Diversity, the Office of Intercultural Education, and the Multifaith Chaplaincy.

Crystal Williams, associate vice president for strategic initiatives, chief diversity officer, and professor of English at �ֲ��ý, has been appointed associate provost for diversity and inclusion at Boston University, effective October 2017. (Photograph by Brian Fitzgerald)

“Crystal has created strong institutional momentum toward fundamental, mission-driven goals. Her contributions at �ֲ��ý have touched many areas of college life, particularly the student experience and faculty hiring,” said President Clayton Spencer. “Crystal is remarkably talented in program design, and �ֲ��ý will continue to benefit from the strategies and programs she has put in place. I am grateful for the vision and creativity with which she has approached this vitally important work.” “I am proud of what �ֲ��ý has accomplished as we seek to ensure that our practices, policies, and programs support both our mission and our institutional goals,” Williams said. “Today, �ֲ��ý is better able to provide members of our community with the tools they need to enact and embody the values that �ֲ��ý espouses.” Williams added, “�ֲ��ý is such a wonderful community. I have enjoyed working with our students, staff, faculty, alumni, and trustees. I have learned how very important relationships are in this community — important not only to the personal endeavor, but to the collective one, as well. It’s been an honor to work in collaboration with so many wonderful and loving people.”

Williams has led efforts to translate �ֲ��ý’ institutional vision and priorities into sustainable strategies for supporting and strengthening the college’s mission-based culture of inclusiveness.

In announcing Williams’ appointment to the newly created Boston University position, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Jean Morrison said, “I am thrilled that we have succeeded in recruiting Crystal Williams to Boston University. Crystal has demonstrated her ability to work collaboratively and effectively to develop significant offices that promote, support, and advance an institutional culture of inclusion.” Among various constituencies, including faculty and students, Williams has led efforts to translate �ֲ��ý’ institutional vision and priorities into sustainable strategies for supporting and strengthening the college’s mission-based culture of inclusiveness. As a thought leader and adviser, Williams has worked closely with colleagues to develop principled structures, practices, and programs to foster inclusive campus communities. In the student realm, Williams expanded and reorganized the staffing of the Office of Intercultural Education, which develops and oversees student programming focused on diversity and inclusion. In 2014, the OIE relocated from a building on the campus periphery to a newly renovated and more central space in Chase Hall. In addition, Williams has been the driving force behind significant new programming that has measurably improved the student experience, including Bobcat First!, supporting students who are the first in their families to attend a four-year college. According to a �ֲ��ý survey, Bobcat First! has enhanced first-generation students’ overall sense of community and their ability to develop friendships, adjust to academic demands, and understand faculty expectations. Other student programs developed under Williams’ tenure include The Dinner Table, a prompt-based dinner and storytelling program that also has yielded increased college satisfaction rates among students; Lingua Franca, a structured forum for exploring important social topics at �ֲ��ý; SPARQ, peer mentoring, ally education, and targeted programming focused on specific LGBTQIA+ identities; and the Justice and Equity Reading Group. Williams was part of the leadership group that conducted a major revision of new-student orientation programming, and she oversaw �ֲ��ý’ Working Weekend, a collaboration between the Office of Equity and Diversity and the Purposeful Work initiative, which brought alumni to campus to meet, mentor, and network with students from predominantly underrepresented groups. She oversaw the creation of �ֲ��ý Alumni Mosaic, which fosters stronger communities of alumni from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups and/or who are LGBTQIA+ identified and their allies.

�ֲ��ý students react to a storyteller during the December 2016 presentation of The Dinner Table, a prompt-based dinner program that helps students talk constructively across difference. (Andree Kehn for �ֲ��ý College)

A noted leader in diversity in higher education, Williams has spoken about the imperative to diversify the professoriate at U.S. colleges. She played a pivotal role in �ֲ��ý’ decision to join the Creating Connections Consortium (C3), an initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that includes partnerships between four liberal arts colleges and selected research universities. On behalf of �ֲ��ý, she served on the C3 Executive Committee, collaborating with senior leaders at other U.S. colleges and universities to develop innovative ways to address collective challenges. In 2015, �ֲ��ý hosted the annual C3 Summit, attended by more than 250 participants from colleges and universities across the country, including a number of �ֲ��ý students who were active in diversity and inclusion efforts on campus. She has served as co-chair for the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers, a consortium comprising senior diversity officers at 28 liberal arts colleges. Williams’ leadership was instrumental in �ֲ��ý securing a $1 million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Faculty Diversity and Renewal Grant that has supported new approaches to the hiring and retention of promising faculty from underrepresented groups. Since 2015, 13 of 25 newly hired tenure-track professors and long-term lecturers are from underrepresented groups. The author of four volumes of poetry, Williams was one of 10 poets commissioned to write poems for the 2015 exhibition One-Way Ticket: Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series and Other Visions of the Great Movement North at the Museum of Modern Art. A recognized thought leader on diversity in the arts, most recently Williams gave the opening keynote for the Maine Arts Commission’s annual conference, and participated in the 2016 Equity Series at the Museum of Modern Art with cultural critic Vinson Cunningham and Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation. Before coming to �ֲ��ý, Williams was the inaugural dean for institutional diversity and a tenured faculty member at Reed College. Williams will continue in her role at �ֲ��ý through Aug. 17, 2017. The college will undertake a search for Williams’ successor during the 2017–18 academic year. Beginning this summer and extending into the fall semester when students and faculty return, college leadership will seek input from members of the �ֲ��ý community on the chief diversity officer role and parameters for the search. Meanwhile, the college is committed to ensuring continued progress and momentum on the issues and programs under Williams’ direction. Gwen Lexow, director of Title IX and civil rights compliance in the President’s Office, will oversee the Office of Intercultural Education and the Office of Equity and Diversity for the 2017–18 academic year. Julisa De Los Santos, assistant dean in the Office of Intercultural Education, will serve as interim OIE director for the academic year, reporting to Lexow. Brittany Longsdorf, multifaith chaplain, will report to the president. Kathy Low, interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, will take responsibility for the faculty-facing dimensions of the chief diversity officer role, working with colleagues to assign responsibility for active and inclusive searches, curriculum development, and oversight of the two Mellon Foundation grants relating to faculty diversity.

�ֲ��ý offers play revealing stories of Iranian women

�ֲ��ý News — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 21:25:47 +0000

Hannah Allerton '15 of New York City performs the monologue "The Daughter of Iran."

Shana Wallace '15 of Pleasantville, N.Y., performs the monologue "Scheherazade, the Storyteller."

Audrey Burns '17 of Topsham, Maine, performs "The Assassin and the Daughter of the Revolution."

Rebeccah Bassell '16 of Mechanicsville, Va., delivers the monologue "The Veil Thingy."

"The Poets and the Assassin: Daughters of Iran." a play by Reza Jalali and directed by Senior Lecturer in Theater Kati Vecsey, features �ֲ��ý students performing monologues that offer insight into the plight of women in Iran — women hidden by the traditional chador, unseen but seeing, silenced but rebellious, fighting for liberation, democracy and human rights. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

�ֲ��ý College offers a performance of The Poets and the Assassin, a play by Reza Jalali exploring the lives of women in Iran, at 5 p.m. Friday, March 6, in Gannett Theater, Pettigrew Hall, 305 College St.

Co-sponsored by the theater and dance department and the Office of Intercultural Education at �ֲ��ý, the performance is open to the public at no cost, but tickets are required. Please visit or call 207-786-6161.

The �ֲ��ý production is performed by five students and directed by Katalin Vecsey, senior lecturer in theater and vocal director for �ֲ��ý theatrical productions. A Q&A session follows the performance.

The production moves to Portland for a free performance at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress St. For more information, please call 207-828-5600.

The Poets and the Assassin uses five monologues to unveil the strengths and struggles of women in Iran as they strive to define their own identities within the strictures of that deeply conservative society.

“Although women in Iran have historically been in the forefront of the national struggle for liberation, democracy and human rights, and are among the most educated and progressive women in the Middle East, their stories of courage, resistance and survival — as well as the strength and character of the century-old women’s movement in Iran — are unknown to most in the West,” Jalali writes in an introduction to the play.

“Iranian women live contradictory and complex lives in an intensely traditional and patriarchal society,” he continues. “Their search for identity in a society that is ambiguous about the public role of its women speaks to their refusal to conform to subjugation in the name of tradition, culture and religion.”

The Poets and the Assassin, he says, “unveils the complex and contradictory plight of Iranian women caught in the battle between traditionalism and modernity, while challenging our assumptions about women in Iran and Islam.”

A Kurd from Iran, Jalali is a Muslim scholar, writer and educator who has taught at Bangor Theological Seminary and the University of Southern Maine, and who coordinates USM’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs. His books include New Mainers (Tilbury House, 2009), Moon Watchers (Tilbury, 2010), and the self-published Homesick Mosque and Other Stories (2013).

Vecsey teaches advanced and introductory voice and speech courses, text analysis, stage dialects and voice-over techniques. She has served as a vocal director for academic and professional theater productions in the United States and her native Hungary. Her recent directing credits include Wasteland by Susan Felder, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) by Sarah Ruhl and Collected Stories by Donald Margulies.

The �ֲ��ý student performers are seniors Hanna Allerton of New York City and Shana Wallace of Pleasantville, N.Y.; sophomores Audrey Burns of Topsham, Maine, and Tara Khanmalek Yazdi of Arlington, Va.; and junior Rebeccah Bassell of Mechanicsville, Va. Abigail Zwetchkenbaum, a senior from Providence, R.I., appears instead of Bassell in the SPACE Gallery performance.

Imagination wins out as the Office of Intercultural Education moves into Chase Hall

Jay Burns — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 12:00:02 +0000

A few months ago, Annakay Wright ’17 was touring a Chase Hall space that was dingy and unremarkable — except for the fact that it was going to be the Office of Intercultural Education’s new campus home. “I walked around this space, and, well, it was kind of horrible,” she recalls with a laugh. “I thought, ‘How are we going to fit the OIE in here?'”

Guests attends the Sept. 3 reception for the opening of newly renovated space in Chase Hall for the college’s Office of Intercultural Education. Down the corridor seen at top right is another set of spaces. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Once part of dining Commons, the 4,300-square-foot space had been left fallow when the dining operation left Chase for new Commons in 2008. As Wright, who’s from Brooklyn, N.Y., walked through the raw space with a group of students, staff and architects, she came to a row of windows overlooking a busy patch of �ֲ��ý earth. “I looked through these dusty windows and saw the Library Quad,” she recalls. Suddenly, imagination took over, as Wright saw her future self in the space, hanging out with friends while looking out the windows. She imagined “seeing people on the Quad. I wanted people to look into this space from outside and see life, and I wanted to look out and see life. I wanted people to see the lights on and things going on, and then want to come in hang out.”

Nolwazi Ngwenyama ’16 of Mbabane, Swaziland, listens to a speaker at the reception for the opening of the Office of Intercultural Education’s new home in Chase Hall. She’s an OIE Fellow for 2014-15. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Since then, a complete makeover has transformed the once-humble Chase space. What Wright and others imagined that day — a neighborly, see-and-be-seen aesthetic — was on full display at a gala reception last month to celebrate the Office of Intercultural Education’s new digs. At that reception, the rhetoric, both from college leaders like President Clayton Spencer and Chief Diversity Officer Crystal Williams as well as from students, spoke of a new resolve for the college’s work on diversity and inclusion.

“A quintessentially active, flexible space.”

To President Clayton Spencer, the new space feels hip and fizzy like the offices of a Silicon Valley startup. (With all that exposed Lewiston brick, we prefer “East Coast startup.”) “And what is that kind of space about?” she asked the reception crowd rhetorically. “Creativity. It’s about energy, it’s about who happens by and throws their energy and ideas into the mix. It’s about being welcoming and porous. It’s a quintessentially active, flexible space.” Sleek yet inviting, the new space was designed by Canal 5, the firm that reworked the Bobcat Den a couple years ago. At �ֲ��ý, project manager Paul Farnsworth oversaw the undertaking. Depending on your �ֲ��ý era, you may recall the old space as the low-ceiling or small room in Commons. Or, the space — part of a 1978 addition to the building — may predate you altogether. Mostly facing the Gray Athletic Building, it runs nearly the length of Chase’s east side. Some of it, as Wright noticed, overlooks the Library Quad.

Julisa De Los Santos, an assistant dean in the Office of Intercultural Education, reacts to a speaker during the reception celebrating OIE's new home in Chase Hall. That's Crystal Williams, chief diversity officer, behind De Los Santos. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Guests attend the Sept. 3 reception for the reception celebrating the new home of the Office of Intercultural Education. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Loring Danforth, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Anthropology, greets a friend at the Sept. 3 reception celebrating the new home of the Office of Intercultural Education. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Students hang out near the "study bar" that overlooks the Library Quad during the reception celebrating the new home of the Office of Intercultural Education. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Guests attend the Sept. 3 reception celebrating the new home of the Office of Intercultural Education. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

The new layout features four offices for the professional staff and three meeting rooms, two small and one large. There are two large social spaces connected by a wide hallway, one being the “study bar” that Wright envisioned overlooking the Library Quad, and the other a family-style social space. This being food-crazed �ֲ��ý, there’s a kitchen. And along a new access corridor into the office are three new prayer rooms.

“Surrounded by amazing people.”

Several students, including Teddy Poneman ’15 of Larchmont, N.Y., past co-coordinator of OUTFront, spoke at the reception. At �ֲ��ý, Ponemon says he’s been “surrounded by amazing people who have transformed me. This space will continue that across the campus in macro ways: to engage the entire community to take action around our mission statement — ‘the transformative power of our differences.’” Charged with supporting and strengthening diversity and inclusion efforts, the OIE’s success, as you can imagine, might depend as much on having the right space as the right programming and staff.

“Catalyze areas and people on the campus.”

Regarding the latter, the office is headed by Crystal Williams, the college’s chief diversity officer as well as an associate vice president and professor of English. She’s been joined by a professional staff of four. Williams told the gathering that with the opening of its headquarters, the OIE is ready to do some hard work. Specifically, her team will set out to “catalyze areas and people on the campus who have not felt that the work [of diversity and inclusion] is their work. “Our intention is to help build a culture at �ֲ��ý that suggests that not only is the work of ensuring that everyone feels included, valued and served being done here, but that this is an institutional norm. It is the standard, and that anything outside of that is the exception. That is the work that we are setting for ourselves.” Josh McIntosh is the college’s dean of students and vice president for student affairs, and after Williams gave him a tour of the new space, he saw how architecture could “facilitate progress” in diversity and inclusion. �ֲ��ý need spaces, he says, to foster community for “students who have been on the margin of nearly every educational system in this country.” �ֲ��ý needs to support student success, especially for first-generation and low-income students. And then there’s the imperative to “educate the community about why diversity and inclusion matters.” In the new OIE spaces, he saw a spectrum of potential student experiences, from “study, focus, academics, don’t do Facebook” and family-room living to “reflection, deep-thought and learning work.”

“I’ve never seen it, and that’s not an overstatement or hyperbole.”

The OIE’s prior home was a wood-frame building on Campus Avenue that was razed over the summer, along with several other buildings, to make way for two new student residence halls. The coming infusion of student life right across the street from OIE headquarters makes its location even more student-friendly.

Jalen Baker ’16 of Lancaster, Texas, talks with Dean of Students Josh McIntosh during the reception celebrating the new home of the Office of Intercultural Education. President Spencer is in the background. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

For Williams’ part, she says she’s “never in all my travels seen an intercultural center in the middle of campus, one with study space, social space, learning and office space, and open space. I’ve never seen it, and that’s not an overstatement or hyperbole.” The singular nature of the space, she said, indicates Spencer’s “commitment to �ֲ��ý values and principles with regard to inclusion and diversity.” The event’s final insight was lofty, and it came from Jalen Baker ’16 of Lancaster, Texas, a member of the OIE’s student staff and officer in the �ֲ��ý Christian Fellowship. The OIE’s work, he said, helps “students to leave �ֲ��ý not only with world-class talents, but also as world-class people who contribute to the betterment of their communities so we can all live in a better world.”

Slideshow: 2014 Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance

Phyllis Graber Jensen — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 22:35:55 +0000

Assistant Men's Lacrosse Coach Bill Mason listens as a Martel School 4th-grader reads about the Civil Rights Movement during the annual MLK Day Read-In on Jan. 22. �ֲ��ý faculty, staff and students participated. (Sarah Crosby/�ֲ��ý College)

Sankofa wows its audience members, including President Clayton Spencer. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Sankofa co-directors Bethel Kifle '14 and Jourdan Fanning '14 take their bows at the end of the performance. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Jalen Baker '16 presents "Letter to Daddy" during the 2014 Sankofa production titled "H.O.M.E. (Honoring Our Motherland Eternally)." (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Christopher Petrella '05, a doctoral candidate in African American studies at UC Berkeley, discusses the topic of his dissertation and focus of his activism, "The Color of Corporate Corrections: Global Capital, Black Diaspora and the Rise of the Private Prison State." (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Images from the observance at �ֲ��ý: Sunday’s memorial service; the keynote address on the history of King’s “Dream” speech and a personal reminiscence from U.S. Sen. Angus King; the Benjamin Mays Debate between �ֲ��ý and Morehouse; and workshops in the afternoon followed by the evening arts performance by Sankofa. Photographs by Sarah Crosby and Phyllis Graber Jensen.

OIE Speaker Series opens with activist who defied Saudi ban on women driving

�ֲ��ý News — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 18:59:10 +0000

Saudi women’s rights advocate Manal Alsharif.

Manal Alsharif, an advocate for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia known for filming herself as she broke that nation’s law against women driving, launches a series of events at �ֲ��ý exploring human diversity. Alsharif describes her life and work at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the Edmund S. Muskie Archives, 70 Campus Ave. The opening event in the fall 2013 Office of Intercultural Education Speaker Series at �ֲ��ý, Alsharif’s lecture is presented jointly with the Harward Center for Community Partnerships’ Civic Forum Series. It’s open to the public at no cost. Read more about Manal Alsharif. Following Alsharif in the OIE Speaker Series:

Photographer Jeff Sheng, whose exhibition The Fearless Project: Photographs of LGBT Athletes opens with a reception at 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, on the second floor of �ֲ��ý Commons, 136 Central Ave., and who discusses his work at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, in Commons Room 221-222. Read more about Jeff Sheng.
And spoken-word poets Alix Olson and B Yung, appearing at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, in the Benjamin Mays Center, 95 Russell St. Readers, please note: Some listings indicate an incorrect date for this event, but Oct. 23 is correct. Learn more about Alix Olson and B Yung.

For more information about these events, please call 207-786-8303. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA90LuN_ifQ

Crystal Ann Williams named associate vice president and chief diversity officer

�ֲ��ý News — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 17:34:35 +0000

Crystal Ann Williams of Reed College has been appointed associate vice president and chief diversity officer at �ֲ��ý.

�ֲ��ý President A. Clayton Spencer announced today that Crystal Ann Williams of Reed College in Portland, Ore., will become associate vice president and chief diversity officer effective Nov. 4, 2013.

Williams will oversee the Office of Equity and Diversity and the Office of Intercultural Education and serve as a member of the president’s senior staff.

Currently dean for institutional diversity and a faculty member in creative writing at Reed, Williams is a widely published poet and author who will join the English department at �ֲ��ý as a professor.

“I am delighted that we have found a person of Crystal Williams’ stature to lead diversity efforts at �ֲ��ý,” said Spencer. “She brings deep experience and passion to the task of reclaiming and refashioning for the present the commitment to inclusion that runs deep in �ֲ��ý’ identity and mission.

“That Crystal Williams is also a poet of remarkable depth and range will add dimension to her work in diversity, while enriching the intellectual community on campus.”

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Clayton Spencer and to join the �ֲ��ý leadership team,” said Williams. “I am excited and looking forward to working with students, staff, faculty and alumni to move the dial forward, truly honor �ֲ��ý’ tremendous history of inclusion, and collaboratively envision and set forth an exciting and innovative 21st-century agenda for the college.”

As chief diversity officer, Williams will be responsible for advancing the college’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Williams will work with the dean of the faculty on academic appointments and retention, and with the Human Resources department on hiring and employment practices related to staff.

She will shape campus-wide initiatives and programming that promote a culture of inclusiveness as well as compliance with federal and state statutes and regulations governing nondiscrimination and equal opportunity.

Williams will work closely with Heather Lindkvist, �ֲ��ý’ Title IX officer, who has responsibility for all aspects of Title IX programming, training, and compliance, as well as issues relating to policies and practices concerning sexual respect and misconduct. The Title IX officer reports to the president.

At Reed, Williams established the first office for institutional diversity, developing a strategic vision and mission and institution-wide programs. Collaborating broadly with campus colleagues, she designed and put into place training and assessment processes to further diversity and inclusivity. She was instrumental in enhancing faculty search processes, which resulted in a 50 percent increase in faculty diversity in tenure-track hires in the last academic year.

Williams’ appointment as associate vice president and chief diversity officer at �ֲ��ý follows a national search carried out by a search advisory committee composed of faculty, staff, students and the president, led by Whitehouse Professor of Art and Visual Culture and of Women and Gender Studies Erica Rand, and Associate Athletic Director Gwen Lexow.

Associate Professor of Politics John Baughman provided staff support to the committee. The search included visits to campus by several finalists, who spoke in large forums and small meetings about their experience and vision for developing an environment of inclusion on campus.

Williams is a nationally award-winning poet and author of creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, including PEN America, American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, The Sun and Angles of Ascent: A Norton Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry.

Williams was raised in Detroit, Mich., and Madrid, Spain. Her fourth volume of poetry, Detroit as Barn, will be published by Lost Horse Press in 2014. She was appointed by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber to the Oregon Arts Commission.

Williams received a bachelor’s degree from New York University in 1997 and a master of fine arts degree from Cornell University in 2000. She joined the Reed faculty in 2000, where she taught creative writing and received tenure in 2007.

She has been appointed professor of English at �ֲ��ý on the recommendation of the Committee on Personnel and with the approval of the Board of Trustees.